A/N Tried to upload this chapter yesterday and something didn't go right. Hopefully this fixes it. Fingers crossed.
Thank you for the reviews and let me know what you think of part 2
Part II
Monday early afternoon
Sylvester was always the most kind of all the geniuses. He didn't want to shove Walter; he didn't really blame him for what Florence said. But it stung nonetheless, and he did what he did. He had so many chances to ask her out but could never get himself to do it. He was always worrying about hurting someone and now they were all hurting.
Happy and Toby didn't say a word on their way out. To their credit, they did try to get Walter to tell Paige the truth, the whole truth. And when he didn't do it, they saw how it was always his way or the highway to them. So, they took the highway. But now with the decision made that they wanted to adopt; they were worried that changing jobs was not the best avenue for them to have gone down.
The only member of the team not to bale and leave him was Cabe. He knew Walter wasn't perfect, he knew he messed up, but he was not going to add to the storm of what was being thrown at him. He half stayed to show his loyalty for his friend, a person he considered his son. And he half stayed because he was still all these years later still trying to make up for his biggest mistake with Walter.
Back at Centipede headquarters
"Oh man, it's here!" Toby and Sly let out at the same time when the delivery van showed up.
"We've got our own arcade game now, and it even has our name on it, Centipede" Sly said smiling.
Things had been going well for the upstarts. Equal partners, equal pay. And they all played their roles. Paige set up the meetings, led the presentations and was the interpreter between genius and the world. The same roll she had masterfully handled at Scorpion. Sly was the numbers guy as usual, he was taking on some more of the programming duties that were usually left for Walter to handle. Toby was still Toby, analyzing everyone and everything, but he had continued to show how capable he was with his surgical skills over the years, and he enjoyed being able to add his expertise in that area any time he could. Happy was well Happy. She could build just about anything from anything, and now that Walter was no longer a part of the team, she found herself taking the lead out in the field whenever it was needed to be done on the job. They all felt like they were growing and doing better without the person who had saved them and brought them all together as a family in the first place. Which didn't make much sense to them and still made total sense. The three original team members felt maybe Walter had been holding them back all these years. He always had the final say in the jobs they did and the rolls they played in them. And now, now they were all equals. The three of them and Paige, team Centipede Partners.
They started unboxing the arcade game when they saw Paige entering the building.
"Look Paige, it's here" Sly was giddily saying
"Oh boy, our very own game, guys, I can't wait to set the high score" Toby declared
"What are you two genius idiots talking about? We have work we could be doings. And hey, waitress, don't think we didn't notice you sure took a long lunch."
Paige didn't respond to any of them. She walked over to her desk put her stuff down and just sat there for a minute.
"Ahh Paige, you ok, look a little pale. Want to let us know what's going on?" Toby queried
"Earth to waitress. Hello." Added Happy
"Paige, are you ok" was all Sly could add
"What? Huh? I wasn't…didn't hear what you said" Paige let out, deep in thought
"Something is bothering you; you look a little pale, what is it, you can tell me, I'm a doctor" Toby put out there half kidding, half not. He could see something was troubling her. Where had she been, or who had she seen. Hospital visit, school issue with Ralph, something with Cabe, or oh no Walter. He was going to figure it out.
"Wow Doc, you really are a genius. Figuring out something is wrong with her." Happy sarcastically shot back.
"Guys, we have a problem…." Paige started to say
"Ooooh boy" Sly said shaking his hands and grabbing his inhaler.
"Are you pregnant?" Toby threw out there, the same time Happy's hand smacked the back of his head.
"Oww, sorry, I had to ask." Came his reply
"It involves Walter…" Paige continued without really realizing what Toby had said.
"Oh man I was right, you are pregnant." Toby shot out there again just as a second hand smacked the back of his head
"Shut it Doc, or the next ones really going to be painful" Happy yelled.
Paige took a deep breath and looked around the office at the three friends.
"Walter texted me this morning and wanted to talk to me about something important." Paige continued
"Ah Paige, why didn't you tell us about this when he texted, equal partners, remember." Toby stated
"I'm actually with Doc on this one, spill it waitress." Happy added
"Walter said he just wanted to meet for ten minutes. So, I didn't think it was anything big, maybe just something of mine he came across and wanted to give back to me." Paige ended
"OK fair enough, fair enough. So, what did Mr. 197 say." Toby continued.
"Well, the meeting started off bad with him trying to apologize, and I almost left a couple of times before I realized if I couldn't make it through a few minutes with him, the next years of my life were going to be very tough. So, we talked for a couple of minutes and then he told me something he figured out." Paige said having everyone's full attention.
"Now look, this isn't going to change anything between us for now, or maybe ever, but I think we may need to work together with Walter on this one." She said before they all interrupted.
"Work together with Walter? And Florence? Sorry Sly, and Cabe?", Toby said
"Not good" added Happy
"Let's not throw Florence under the bus on this Toby, she was very helpful for me and the team while we were there", Sly added while getting a stare from Paige while he gulped.
"Not sure what that knucklehead would need from us now, can't he figure it out by himself" added Happy
"Look, I'm not ready to openly talk to Walter either right now. I may never fully be able to get over what happened, but at least hear me out. I told Walter I would hear him out and I hope you can give me the same courtesy." She finished.
"OK, sorry Paige" all three geniuses said in their own words.
"Now some of what I am going to relay to you I don't fully understand so please let me get it all out before you guys correct me and ask any other questions, ok?" Paige politely asked.
To which they all agreed. What could she possibly have to tell them about what happened that night that splintered Scorpion and altered their lives moving forward?
Paige explained to them about how Walter had set up a bunch of coding algorithms and the day after the teams split apart, he had a major breakthrough. He was able to somehow get through all the encryptions on the different servers that were being used and was able to pinpoint where Collins had been hiding out. He said he also figured out that Florence had at some point turned into a spy for Collins. They all looked over to Sly to see his reaction to this news. And to see if he was ok. He looked dejected but motioned he was ok.
Paige continued to say it wasn't until after the incident of Walter falling down the stairs that she had any contact with him. Walter said he had done a background check on Florence when she moved in next door to see if there was a way of making her leave after she acted rudely to them. Everything he saw looked legit and the funding she was getting from projects she was doing was all on the up and up. But after she told them she had feelings for Walter, he couldn't figure out why she was saying it. So, after we had left him and went our own ways…..
Paige started to realize right here as she was talking to her team, what they had actually done to Walter. They abandoned him, all of them in a matter of seconds walked out the door on him. Shit, what a slap in the face that must have been to him. He had always tried to be good to them, yes, he had his quirks, they all did, but deep down he cared greatly for all of them. He had single-handedly changed all their lives for the better. Had saved all of them from going down roads they didn't need or want to be on. How did it take her this long, especially with her people skills, her genius skills, to see what they had done? What she had done. She decided right there, in the middle of her speech to them, if they said they weren't interested in helping, she would have to. She told herself she would get up from her desk, quit, walk out the door and be fine with helping Walter on her own. She knew she had to talk with him as well to try to let him know she wanted to make things right as well. She couldn't believe how quickly her mind and feelings began to change. Deep down she knew she was the one who was the most to blame, her insecurities led to her blowing up. She knew how Walter felt about her, and she knew she was going to have to do whatever it took to get him back. Funny what love can do to you.
…. he started to investigate what he thought may be going on. He was able to track down payments from routing and account numbers he linked to where Collins was located and see they were deposited in her account. He said a total of $250,000 was sent to her within the past seven days.
"Guys, I know you all know way more than me on how all this stuff works, with hacking and finding account info and stuff, but I do know Walter seemed 100% certain of all of this stuff." She told them so they knew how to proceed with the data.
She continued; "Walter knows he is hiding out in an abandoned airport hanger about 75 miles north of L.A. He has the framework laid out for a plan on catching him, and he said he is willing to do it alone if needed, but he asked if Centipede Partners would be willing to help. He hasn't told Cabe about any of it yet, as he hasn't wanted to cause any suspicion at the garage. But he is sure he will be a part of whatever happens moving forward."
"This is bad, guys, really bad. I thought I could trust Florence and look what she has done." Sly threw out there right away.
"She may have had good intentions at first, but Sly, I'm sorry buddy but if she is linked to Collins, well I'm glad it didn't work out for you." Added Toby.
"Not good." Interjected Happy.
As Paige and the team were discussing what they wanted to do…...
Well Paige already knew what she was going to do, she was just hoping she wouldn't have to go through with walking out on her team again. Although she was fully certain she would and would have zero regret in doing so.
Bzzzzzz…...Bzzzzzzz…. Bzzzzzz
"Hello?" came an inquisitive voice
"Ralph is that you?", came a familiar voice on the other end.
"Walter is that you?" asked Ralph.
"Yes, it is pal, how are you doing?", Walter asked
"Ummm, Walter, does my mom know you are calling, I'm not sure if she would want me talking to you without her knowing?", Ralph cautiously asked.
"He wanted to talk to Walter more than anything, but he also knew he didn't want his mom any more upset than she already was. He was always so mature beyond his age.
"Yes, Paige, um your mom, knows I planned to call, or um get in touch with you. It's good to hear your voice. I have missed seeing you, Ralph." Walter started to say.
He knew how hard this had been on Ralph. He didn't know what he had been told of the breakup, but he hoped it was somewhat the true version of the events.
"Ralph, I want you to know how sorry I am for the stuff that happened a couple of weeks ago. I have been trying to process through all that happened and am trying to figure out what to do to make everything better. I promise you, and I only make promises I plan on keeping, I will do everything I can to make it right. With you, your mom, Toby, Happy and sly. Do you believe me?"
Oh man, he sure hoped Ralph believed him. It would crush him if he didn't. Ralph had told him before that if he were older, he would have fought Walter the last time he hurt his mom. How would he react now, after the idea of Walter being a father to him had crept into his head again, only to see it torn away?
"Walter, I do believe you. But mom has been real upset with you. How are you going to fix it?" again he inquisitively asked.
"I wish I had the answer to that one. It's hard for me when I can't figure something out. Logically I can work through problems and get to an answer, but emotionally I, well you know, I tend to have some flaws." Walter admitted.
"But, hey, one of the reasons I wanted to call you was to tell you about one of the things we had been working on in the garage over the last couple of months. Our accelerator/decelerator coupling module. I finished running the last set of specs on it, after the um, a couple of weeks ago. Everything worked! All the numbers you ran and the formulas you solved were spot on. I think we are going to be able to have it patented and maybe sold by the end of the week. Who knows, maybe I could have you go with me to the meeting with the investors that I have set up. If your mom is ok with it." Walter excitedly said.
Ralph had been thinking about their invention ever since he last saw Walter. Of course he would want to go with him but he also knew it was probably not a possibility right now.
"That would be great Walter, but I don't think mom will let me go." He dejectedly said.
"Well, I understand that pal and I'm sorry, I won't do anything without advising my partner first, ok?" Walter threw back out there.
"OK, thanks for calling Walter. I liked hearing your voice." Ralph honestly said.
They both were hurting. But this was a positive step for them. Maybe Ralph would put in a good word with Paige. Maybe, there was a chance for them after all.
Back at CP headquarters
"As much as I hate to admit it, I don't know if going after Collins is the right call", Toby began, "I still have flashbacks to him trying to kill me."
Paige was getting antsy, she figured Toby would be against helping Walter. He always seemed to be jealous of him for many reasons. But Walter still stood by his side and helped him every time he needed someone. She was hoping one of the others would have spoken up first. Especially Happy. She hoped she would say, lets get the bastard once and for all. Either way this meeting went, she was fully committed in her decision to leave if need be; so, she took a deep breath and waited to see what Sly and Happy had to say.
"Doc, I agree with you, going after Collins may not be the right call…..." Happy started but before she could say another word
"Shit," Paige screamed out. " You too! Of all of you, Happy, I was counting on you being on board with this." She really thought she was going to have to walk out that door in a matter of minutes now.
"If Walter says he knows where Collins is hiding out, how can we sit here and let him go after him alone? It won't change things between us, but that jerk Collins has put all of us through hell." she continued. Now it was Happy's turn to interrupt her.
"If you had let me finish earlier I was going to say, it may not be the right call but, O'Brien has pulled us out of jams our whole lives since he first rescued all of our asses. We put a lot on his plate. And he has plenty on his plate to begin with. I don't know how the rest of you feel, but if you're not ready to walk out that damn door in ten minutes to help our friend out, I'm done with all of you, especially you Toby." Happy now finished.
Atta girl Happy, Paige was thinking. At least she wasn't in this alone.
"Happy, I am so glad you said what you just did, I was ready to walk out the door myself when I first told you guys what was happening, if you hadn't of wanted to help Walter." A couple of tears running down her face as she continued. "But, you're right, Walter has helped us all. He got me out of a dead-end waitress job and a run-down, rodent infested apartment into a nice place to raise my son. What he did for Ralph…. there's not enough time in the day for that one…...and he did it all because he liked the idea of us all being a part of a family. Look, there are still issues between us, and yes, I still love him, before anyone asks, but that doesn't mean I have forgiven him. But, I can't sit back anymore and not help him."
Sylvester was next to talk, "Walter is my brother, he has been my best friend since he first helped me out. I was wrong for shoving him and would like to apologize to him at least for that. Especially since we now know Florence didn't really have feelings for him, and she was just using us to help Collins."
Damnit thought Paige, Walter took Florence to a lecture she didn't want to go to, to save her feelings. He took Florence purely as a colleague. Just like he said. He wasn't trying to hide anything out of secrecy, he was really trying to make her feel ok about not wanting to go. He was using the concept of lying that she had just shown him how to do. It wasn't right, but it didn't deserve the wraith she spewed out at him either, nothing close. It should have been handled in private by the two of them. The more she thought about the argument, the more she realized she was to blame.
Happy glared at her husband and he knew she wasn't messing around. Now was not the time to joke with her either, or Paige for that matter.
"OK, let me rephrase what I said before. If we are going to go after this lunatic, we need to make sure we have thought everything through and not just take what Walter is saying as fact." Toby said
"You with us or against us Toby?" Happy barked at him, giving him one more chance to answer.
"I'm not against you Happy, that's for sure, so I guess count me in." Toby said reluctantly.
"Thank you guys. I will talk to Walter, and we will set up a time for us all to meet." Paige said, relieved it had gone the way it did. Now she wanted to get home to Ralph and try to reconnect a little with him. And to help she would get to tell him Walter was thinking about him.
She really meant it when she said it, Walter had done so much for Ralph. Their bond was stronger than most father-son bonds and she knew that at a minimum, their relationship needed to go back to how it was before.
She texted Walter and told him the whole team was on board and wanted to help with anything they could. He replied back to her, and they set up a time to all meet; after he spoke to Cabe to fill him in and to set up a diversion with Florence.
"Ralph, I'm home", Paige blurted out to no one in sight.
"Hey, mom, how was your day?", Ralph asked her as he emerged from his room.
A warm smile grew upon her face as this was the most engaging Ralph had been with her in a while.
"Guess, who I talked to today?", Ralph asked her.
He was hoping she would say Walter, but maybe she wasn't as excited about him as he was. Maybe Walter really didn't check with Paige about calling him he thought. Oh man, would she be upset if that were the case. A small doubt now crept into his mind. This could go bad, fast.
"I don't know Ralph, did a friend from school, or no, did grandma figure out a way to contact you?", she sweetly asked him back.
Uh oh, he was starting to think this was going to go sideways, quickly. But before he could respond, Paige continued, "I have some news too."
Ralph had misread the response from her and hunched his shoulders, she obviously didn't want to even say his name around him, that's why she asked if a friend or grandma called. On top of that she changed the conversation around to have him guess what her news was. He looked dejected now and matter-of-factly said, "Oh yeah, actually I remembered something I needed to get done in my room, let me know when dinner is ready."
He slumped his head and shoulders down and turned to head back to his room.
Paige didn't know what just happened, one second, he was happy and wanting to share and she had no idea of what she had done. Geniuses were hard she thought. And then he was right back to being shut off with her.
"Honey, what's wrong? Was it something I just said or did? I liked that you came out here when I got home, it has been a little different I know, but hopefully we can work through some stuff." She prayed her kindness and desire to reconnect with him was heard in the tone of her voice this time.
"Mom, I don't know, I just don't like the way things are right now. I was real excited to tell you something, but now I don't know if you are gonna feel the same way." Ralph politely said back to his mom.
"Ralph, I would be thrilled to hear anything you have to say to me." She beamed back at him.
This was his chance he thought, he just needs to come right out and say it.
"OK, Walter called me today." He couldn't get the words out fast enough. He was so excited to tell her he had called. She could tell by the look on his face how excited he was, but she couldn't figure out why he was just a minute ago not wanting to tell her about Walter.
"He did!", she said back smiling with a big grin.
"I'm so glad he called you, sweetie."
"That was the news I wanted to share with you as well. I talked to Walter today too."
"He told me he had been missing you and he asked if I would tell you the same. I told him he could call you any time he wanted to. And sweetie you can call him anytime you want as well. I know how important he is to you." Paige finished.
Paige had to fight back tears at this point. Ralph was smiling from ear to ear at the joy that Walter called him. He was so happy to reconnect with him, and she was just as thrilled for Walter to reconnect as well. And in truth, she was happy to see smiles on either of their faces.
Ralph was a little taken a back when his mom told him she had talked with Walter. He didn't know exactly what this meant, but he wanted to find out.
"Mom, is Walter still important to you?", Ralph asked, not knowing the type of response he would get back.
This was too much for Paige to handle today. She burst out in tears, and she couldn't control the water works that went on over the next 15 minutes. She sobbed and when she thought she was done, sobbed some more. Ralph stayed next to her the whole time. Hugging on her, crying with her and trying to comfort her the best way he could. When she was finally able to take a few deep breaths and calm herself down, she kissed Ralph on the cheeks, gave him a big bear hug and told him what she had been through today.
She told him about the meeting she had with Walter, and how she was still mad at him at first, but as the meeting went on, she felt a little better with him. She told Ralph she couldn't promise him anything about what was going to happen moving forward, but she was now in a place where they could at least talk with each other and see what might happen.
She also told him about the meeting with Centipede Partners. Ralph really liked what Happy had said to rally the team and what his mom had told him she was ready to do if they decided against helping.
Ralph knew his mom had a hard day and he didn't want to upset her anymore.
"Thanks for always being there for me mom. And for being the best mom in the world." He said, meaning every word.
Paige looked at him and kissed him again and gave an even bigger bear hug to him as he walked back towards his room.
"Honey, to answer your question, yes, Walter is still very important to me."
As Ralph was headed to his room, Paige could see he had a great big smile on his face and was very happy, which by default made Paige very happy.
